As the year comes to a close, the Philanthropy New York team sends its warmest holiday wishes to you and your loved ones!
Philanthropy New York's offices will be closed from Monday, December 25th - Monday, January 1st, with limited staffing during the week before and after.
PNY’s Year With You
Throughout this past year, the Philanthropy New York community has remained steadfast in its commitment to building community, nurturing leadership, and deepening learning - all with equity at the center. This work was only made possible due to our deep partnership with you – our members, collaborators, and conspirators. Together with you, we have worked to mobilize a philanthropic community in which power is recognized, shared, and built alongside the individuals and communities most impacted by inequity and harmful racialized policies.
Here are a few highlights of what we've accomplished together this year.
We’ve been talking about power:
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Walking the Walk: Leveraging Philanthropic Power for a Thriving Nonprofit Ecosystem identified how best to leverage the power of philanthropy and stand in allyship with nonprofits to ensure a thriving nonprofit ecosystem
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We partnered with the National Center for Family Philanthropy to engage family foundation trustees in a conversation about accountability, equity, and relationship in family philanthropy governance.
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Our CEO, Kathryn O’Neal-Dunham discussed the possibilities for sector-wide transformation in How do we conspire to shift philanthropy?
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We expanded the audience of PNY’s half-day racial equity training to encompass everyone serving in leadership roles across the community - Board, committees, and the co-chairs of working groups and networks.
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The Role of the Corporate Changemaker shared strategies for how social impact staff within companies can exercise power and create enabling conditions to center equity in the company’s approach.
We’re building relationships with leaders shaping racial equity work within the philanthropic sector and working to create a more just and equitable ecosystem:
- We partnered with Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and deep equity change management practitioner Sheryl Petty in an honest conversation about advancing equity-embedded organizational transformation.
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We joined Media Impact Funders annual Journalism Funders conference and were in conversation with journalist, author, and activist Jose Antonio Vargas around representation, objectivity, and the human toll of being the “voice” of disenfranchised immigrants..
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We discuss opportunities for thought partnership and collaboration with philanthropy with recently appointed Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Ana J. Almanzar
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We stood in allyship with the #JustPay Campaign by issuing a statement to our membership on the day of the strike and using our influence and presence on social media to amplify A Day Without Human Services.
We’re ensuring that the PNY community has the tools to commit to deep equity change:
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Shifting to Build More Equitable Practices offered members concrete examples of how foundations are changing entrenched practices and moving toward more accountable relationships with the communities they serve.
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Monika Kalra Varma from BoardSource authored Beyond the Glass Cliff: Reimagining Executive Transitions in the Sectork and shared how philanthropy can support recently appointed BIPOC CEOs.
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Acknowledging Inflation in our Grantmaking Practice focused on strategies funders have adopted for supporting their grantees during times of high inflation and options funders might pursue to address institutional barriers to adaptive action.
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What Does It Mean to Be Black-Led? - Going Beyond Demographics highlighted what it means to center Black leadership in foundation governance.
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Rachel Kimber of Smile Train and Blanch Vance of The Grove Foundation lifted up the structural inequities that often exist in grant reporting: Purpose as a Compass: Grant Reporting - What is the Purpose? Linking Values, Vision, and Practice
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Bridging Practice to Lead Forward encouraged funders to help normalize leadership transition conversations and identify practices that could be supportive.
And we’ve been sharing our story through the tough moments so that PNY’s members know that we are walking hand in hand on this journey:
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As our community struggled with the impacts of the Supreme Court decisions on Affirmative Action our voice joined others in the philanthropic community in Philanthropy New York Speaks Out After the Supreme Court's Decision on Affirmative Action
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We shared our experience as a staff trying to navigate the fear, vulnerability, and values we are all holding in the wake of the horrific violence we are witnessing in the Middle East and the rise in hate-based violence here in New York City.
- Our Journey: Celebrating the Eighth Year of Philanthropy 101 and Sharing What's to Come highlighted Philanthropy 101’s shift to inviting participants to reflect on how they can build, shift, and share power with the communities they serve in their new roles.
As we prepare for the new year, we are eager to continue working to build on these commitments. We look forward to another year of progress toward a more just and equitable future.
You are an integral part of building this vision and your contributions are the driving force behind our shared success. Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful holiday season and a prosperous New Year ahead!
